Post-1966 bikes to race at Goodwood

MOTORCYCLE racing will be part of the programme for the very first time at the 74th

MOTORCYCLE racing will be part of the programme for the very first time at the 74th Goodwood Members’ Meeting taking place this weekend (March 19 and 20).

The Hailwood Trophy — for two-stroke 250cc and 350cc Grand Prix motorcycles that raced between 1970 and 1982 — will signal the first time that post-1966 bikes have ever raced at the Goodwood motor circuit.

The 30-strong grid of motorcycles will be decked out in their evocative period liveries and several riders who raced the bikes during the period will also be present.

As was the case in the Seventies and Eighties, the field will be populated with many Yamahas but interlopers from manufacturers as diverse as Bimota, Harley-Davidson, Harris, Juchem, Rhinghini and Spondon will also be battling for honours.

Lord March said: “At the Goodwood Revival we have enjoyed for many years the epic battles fought out on track in the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy races, where hordes of bikes from the Fifties and Sixties scrap for honours.

“Now it is the turn of the Members’ Meeting to welcome the leather-clad heroes. The bikes that will be featured in the Hailwood Trophy race are from a golden era of motorcycle racing, when heroes such as Phil Read, Walter Villa, Giacomo Agostini, Johnny Cecotto and Kork Ballington won numerous world titles.